


For the Cold

by dontlietomehoney



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cold Weather, Derek gives Stiles his jacket, Dorms, Fire Alarms, Kisses, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 02:26:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2905808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontlietomehoney/pseuds/dontlietomehoney
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The fire alarm keeps going off in Stiles' residence hall and the first time it happens he sees his neighbor, Derek, in his underwear. The second time around, Derek sees Stiles in his.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For the Cold

The first time it happens, Stiles is just coming home from studying at the library. It’s one thirty in the morning and he had planned on staying on campus to study for much longer but the damn librarians had kicked him out. But he can’t find himself being too angry when his jeep rolls to a stop in front of his residence hall and he finds all of the students of the building milling around in the parking lot.

Some students are excitedly watching the flashing lights on the fire trucks and EMT vehicles, but most of them look sleepy, their hair mussed and their eyes heavy lidded. Stiles navigates through them slowly so he can find a parking spot, and as he moves along he finds the one person who looks down right furious. And he happens to be Stiles’ neighbor.

His incredibly sexy neighbor, who Stiles may or may not have been pining over since he saw the guy walking through the halls shirtless in the first week of the semester. Stiles had practically salivated over the guys taut stomach and broad shoulders, and he often had very inappropriate dreams about the tattoo between his neighbor’s shoulder blades. The same tattoo that is fully exposed as Stiles drives by, because what do you know the guy is wearing nothing but tight, black boxer briefs. And it is _cold_ outside.

This is his chance, Stiles realizes.

He parks as fast as he can and reaches into the back of his jeep to pull out one of the many blankets he keeps back there for hiking trips he takes on weekends with Scott, Allison, Lydia, Jackson, and even Danny. Stiles always gives them shit for one, making him do physical activity and calling it bonding, and two, caring about him enough to visit him at uni every weekend. But he appreciates it now more than ever as he spills out of his jeep and rushes over to his neighbor and shoves the blanket at him.

“Hi, hey, yo,” he splutters nervously as the guy glares at him. “This, ah, this is for you, cause… cold.”

The guy looks completely skeptical, but Stiles is still holding the blanket up to him and doesn’t stop until his neighbor sighs heavily and takes the blanket to drape it over his shoulders. Stiles pretends not to notice or be offended by the way the guy sniffs it first though as if to make sure it doesn’t smell.

“Stiles,” he offers and stretches his hand out.

The guy looks at it for a long moment, “What the hell is a Stiles?”

The younger boy deflates slightly. “My name.”

He doesn’t offer his own hand at all, but growls out an “oh” before he looks back up at the building. “Derek,” he offers after a long minute of silence.

Stiles forces out a laugh and shoves his hands in his pockets, looks to the dorms instead of his neighbor’s crotch which he had _not_ been staring at. “So, what happened?”

Derek glares at him. “Fire alarm.”

Stiles rubs nervously at the back of his neck, because, okay, his neighbor is a little intense with the glares and the growling, but that doesn’t exactly stop him from feeling attracted to the guy. But he does notice how tense Derek is.

“Are you okay?” He asks. “You’re not worried about your porn stash or something are you?”

Derek turns on him with glare far fiercer than the last and Stiles takes a step back.

“Sorry, I… I didn’t mean to ask that. Sorry. But seriously, I don’t see or smell any smoke and the firefighters are all out here on the sidewalk with us. I don’t think there’s a real fire or anything. Your room is safe, I’m sure,” Stiles swears.

Derek doesn’t respond for a moment, his eyes scanning over Stiles, and the smaller boy feels like an ass.

“Sorry,” he repeats, but before he can walk away Derek asks, “How do you know all of the firefighters are out here and not in there?”

“Oh,” Stiles laughs nervously. “Uh, my dad is the sheriff back home, and I rode along with him a lot of the time when stuff like this happened. He always left me in the car of course, but I entertained myself by counting all the firefighters and police officers that were at the scene. There’s always the same number in a team, see? And this team here has all its numbers out here.”

“Huh,” Derek murmurs.

Stiles bites his lip, wanting to punch himself in the face, but nods instead and just turns to look at the residence hall again.

It’s a long time before Derek speaks again.

“Thanks,” he says, and when Stiles looks at him in surprise he waves a blanket covered hand around a little bit. “For this.”

“Oh! Oh, no problem dude! You looked like you could use it, and I had plenty to share after all. I keep a bundle of them in my jeep over there. Not for, like, anything weird. I’m not hiding bodies with them or anything, or taking them out into the woods late at night for any other nefarious reasons, or anything else… odd. Oh my god. I- - they’re for hiking and when it gets cold like this. And… you looked… you know, cold.” Stiles throws his hands in the air at his own word vomit dialogue, because why couldn’t he just control himself for five fucking minutes? This was his _chance_ and-

And Derek is laughing.

 _Derek is laughing_ , and Stiles wants to high five himself, but he won’t because he has already made a big enough idiot of himself. He smiles, though, and Derek smiles too.

Stiles even notices that the tension that had been in the guy’s shoulders has eased, and Derek shuffles on his feet.

“Thanks,” he repeats, flashing Stiles another small smile.

Stiles’ heart soars, but before he can get himself into too much trouble and invite Derek to his room, the fire alarm is cut off and all of the students make their way back into the building. Stiles is the last one in because he remembers he has to grab his books from the passenger seat of his jeep before he goes in, and Derek is already gone.

***

After that Derek nods at Stiles in the hallways, but doesn’t say anything else. He also doesn’t give the blanket back, but Stiles likes to think he uses it on his bed at night.

Wishful thinking probably, he tells himself.

***

The second time it happens, Stiles is the one in his underwear. The fire alarm goes off just as he steps out of the shower, and he jumps about a foot in the air before he’s able to scramble for a pair of clean boxers. And then he scrambles out of the bathroom and out the door after he grabs a pair of shoes as well. It’s not until he’s outside, shivering on the sidewalk, that he thinks he should have grabbed a jacket as well, and maybe his room keys too.

“F-f-fuck,” he whimpers through chattering teeth.

It is even colder this time than it was last time the fire alarm went off, and the water on Stiles’ skin and in is hair is practically ice. He hops around from foot to foot, but nothing really helps him stay warm.

He is full-body shivering by the time all of the people in the dorms are out, and Stiles just knows he’s going to get hypothermia.

But then he sees Derek jogging across the sidewalk with a cell phone pressed tightly to his ear. He’s talking rapidly, but after a moment of listening to the other person on the line, he calms and slows his gate.

Stiles can’t help but wander closer to the man. He’s all bundled up with a scarf and leather jacket as if he had just gotten inside when the alarm went off, and Stiles could just stand next to him, he’s sure, and absorb some of the heat from him.

As he gets closer he catches the end of Derek’s conversation, and feels colder than before.

“-eah, I love you too, Laura. Yeah. You be careful too. Bye,” Derek hums as he closes the phone. He looks relieved.

Stiles presses his fingertips into his ribs to try and keep himself in check as he finally bumps shoulders with his neighbor, and smiles weakly. The thought of Derek having a girlfriend is a bit crushing, but, then again, that is the point of having a crush, right? Being crushed because you never stand a chance with the guy of your dreams? Or girl, Stiles isn’t picky. But Stiles legitimately thought he might actually get Derek to like him after he had given the guy a blanket and made him laugh.

But, he supposes, Derek is way too far out of his league anyways. So he settles for body heat instead and pretends he doesn’t feel all of his hope flying out the window.

“H-hey,” he mumbles, forces a smile. “What are doing all dressed up at 3:00 a.m.?”

Derek looks over at him with a glare before he realizes who it is, and sighs. Yeah, Stiles’ hope is definitely gone.

“What are you doing outside in just your underwear and shoes?” Derek counters.

Stiles shivers with the reminder, his teeth snapping together and his nails scraping over his ribs as he pulls them into fists. He shrugs. “I k-kinda like it. Being a P-p-popsicle has been a lifelong dream of m-mine, you know?”

Derek scoffs, looks at Stiles a little more fully for a moment, and shakes his head. And then pulls at the leather jacket he has on, and Stiles blinks in surprise when the warmth of it engulfs his torso. Stiles groans at the heat, but blinks in confusion.

“Wh-what-”

Derek zips the jacket all the way up to Stiles chin and crosses his arms. “For the cold. Idiot.”

Stiles stares down at the leather jacket with wide eyes and feels his cheeks redden with blush. “Uh-”

“Why did the fire alarm even go off again anyways?” Derek asks, changing the subject.

Stiles blinks up at him, reaches out and grabs at the inner lining of the jacket to pull it closer to his chest because Derek’s shoulders are _wide_ and the thing is too big for Stiles. But he isn’t about to hand it back to the guy when he is soaking up the heat it offers. And it smells fantastic. Like cinnamon and pine, and Stiles wants to melt into it knowing it’s Derek’s scent. He clears his throat.

“I don’t kn-know. I was showering when it went off,” he shrugs and ignores the sideways look Derek gives him. “Maybe someone blew up their microwave again.”

“Again?”

“Again,” Stiles nods.

Derek sighs, pulls his scarf a little tighter around his neck, and sidesteps a little closer to the younger boy. “Your hair is frozen,” he growls.

“S-sorry?” Stiles murmurs.

Derek rolls his eyes, rubs his index finger up and down the bridge of his nose, and looks at Stiles like he is the cause of everything wrong with this situation. The younger boy moves to step away, not sure what he could have possibly done wrong _at all_ , but before he gets very far an arm is winding around his middle and pulling him closer.

Stiles squeaks in surprise and can’t stop the grunt he lets out when he comes into full contact with Derek’s chest. He gapes up at the older man in confusion. Derek won’t even look at him.

“At least grab pants next time,” he says gruffly.

Stiles smiles, the gesture small and hidden as he buries his face against the other man’s shoulder, and nods. “Okay.”

Derek grumbles softly, but holds Stiles closer and nods as well. Stiles almost feels like he could fall asleep against Derek. If only there weren’t fire trucks, EMTs, and police swarmed around the building and his knees weren’t knocking together with shivers that were still wracking his body. And that memory of Derek telling some girl he loved her.

“So Laura’s your girlfriend, huh?” He asks before he can stop himself, and Derek freezes against him.

“How do you know Laura?”

“I heard you on the phone before I said hi,” Stiles explains nervously. He hates himself sometimes because of the situations he gets himself into. Like asking the guy he likes if he has a girlfriend.

“Why does it matter who she is?” Derek asks defensively.

And yeah, okay, that’s a fair question, but Stiles had thought they were _bonding_. So could you really blame him for being hurt at the tone in Derek’s voice?

“I shouldn’t have asked,” he mumbles.

Derek shakes his head. “Of course,” he mutters as well. And then he raises his voice to normal level again. “Do you want to date or something? Want me to give her your number? Is that what this is?”

“Dude,” Stiles squawks. “Is that what _what_ is? I just asked a question.”

“You helped me out a few weeks ago,” Derek growls. “Did you do it because you knew who Laura was? Because you wanted to date her and knew I was close to her?”

“Oh fuck you,” Stiles grunts and tries to pull away, but Derek’s arms are solid muscle and he doesn’t move an inch. Stiles huffs and looks up at the other man. “Dude! I helped you because-”

 “Because why?” Derek rumbles lowly when Stiles doesn’t finish his sentence.

But the younger boy is shaking still, and now it’s not entirely from the cold. He can’t imagine how this cuddle session escalated so quickly when this is only the second encounter he has had with his neighbor. And he doesn’t exactly feel inclined to explain his reasoning, but he supposes he doesn’t have a choice.

“Look,” Stiles sighs, “so she’s your girlfriend. Whatever. I was just curious. I’m naturally curious, kind of comes with the whole Stiles Stilinski package. Not that you’re, you know, interested in the Stiles Stilinski package. Or any package at all I guess. But- - look, can you just let me go now? I’ve made enough of a fool of myself.”

Derek tightens his arms around Stiles. “Why?” he asks again.

Stiles grunts in frustration, bangs his head against the bigger man, but doesn’t give up much more of a fight. He knows he screwed up. Why fight that.

“I helped you,” he sighs, “because I like you.”

Derek goes even more still than before. “Wh-”

“You’re my neighbor, you know? We’ve lived on the same floor, side by side, for months and you’ve never even seen me. And I get it, you know? Most of the people I like tend to not even know I exist. But then I saw you out here a few weeks ago and you were in just your freaking boxers and you looked so- so _good_ but also, like, really cold. So I gave you a blanket hoping at least that would get you to notice me, and it kind of did. You didn’t look right through me in the halls anymore, but you also didn’t really talk to me either. But, hey, like I said, I’m kind of used to it when the people I like don’t know I exist.”

Derek seems dumbfounded, completely silent as Stiles continues on and on.

“And then the stupid fire alarm went off _again,_ and who the fuck keeps doing that anyways? And I saw you over here talking on the phone, and you looked really good still, but also really warm. And so I came to say hi, and I heard you telling Laura you loved her, and cool, dude. That’s cool. You love your girlfriend, and I’ve been a complete and total idiot this _whole_ time, because let’s be honest, I’ve liked you since move in day when you chose to bring all your shit up the stairs instead of the elevator and you were shirtless and _sweating_ and Jesus, dude, how much do you work out? But that’s not the point, sorry, I just… Just let me go, okay? And I’ll give you your jacket back and go stand over there and never speak to you again, and you and Laura, who I don’t even know by the way, can be happy together without me bothering you, and-”

“Laura,” Derek interrupts suddenly, “is my sister.”

Stiles goes very quiet, then, and looks up at Derek, his cheeks flushed and his eyes wide. “Wh-what?”

“She’s my sister,” Derek says again, still looking surprised.

“I-” Stiles licks his lips, his whole face going red then. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Derek nods. “Oh.”

Stiles fidgets, plucks at a string on the inside of Derek’s jacket, and looks around at the groups of students huddled together all around the sidewalks. He wonders what’s taking the firefighters so long this time. “I- - you should probably let me go now, so I can go curl into a ball and die of embarrassment.”

Derek’s arms twitch and tighten around Stiles yet again, but this time it’s a softer kind of tight. And Stiles doesn’t know what to do with that. He won’t look at Derek anymore, but the bigger man still won’t let him go.

“I’m sorry,” he finally tells the smaller boy.

Stiles jerks in surprise, glances up at Derek just for a moment. “What? Why?”

“I shouldn’t have assumed you wanted to help me because you wanted to get to Laura,” Derek explains. His words are stunted slightly as if they are hard to get out.

“It’s okay,” Stiles murmurs, confused, but doesn’t try to pull away from Derek again.

The bigger man sighs. “It’s not. But… Okay, so you’re right, I didn’t know you existed before.” Stiles flinches. “And I still don’t know very much about you. But… I want to.”

“Y-you do?”

“I- - I haven’t had the best of luck with relationships,” Derek says, his eyes squinted as if in pain, and Stiles actually moves closer to him again. “That’s- that’s all I really want to say about it right now. But, I like you too, and if you weren’t lying then…”

“Then?” Stiles asks, his hope somehow crawling back in the window it had flown out of earlier.

Derek looks down at him, his eyes shining with the flashes of lights still going on behind Stiles, and he shrugs. “Then we should do something about it? If you want?”

Stiles doesn’t speak for a long moment, assessing whether or not Derek is joking, and smiles when he sees the increasing uncomfortableness it causes the other man. “You’re serious.”

Derek looks offended, but before he can say anything Stiles just laughs, feeling an insanely lucky and surprised all at once, and pulls the man down to press a sloppy, quick kiss to his lips.

“Definitely,” he breathes when he pulls away. “Definitely we should do something about it. I want.”

“Yeah?” Derek asks, licks his lips and blinks down at the smaller boy.

“Yes,” Stiles laughs. “ _So_ yes, dude.”

“Don’t call me dude,” Derek murmurs, but pulls Stiles in for another kiss.

When they are finally let back into the building, Stiles is warm again and Derek looks very ruffled and pleased with himself. His jacket his still around Stiles’ shoulders, and it is accompanied by the bigger man’s arm.

**Author's Note:**

> unedited, and very short, but I hope you like it. Kudos and comments are very much appreciated. Thank you.


End file.
